We're all keenly aware that vintage gaming technology isn't going to last forever, but with cartridges, there's a pressing issue of valuable save data becoming lost when internal batteries eventually fail.
We've already seen devices hit the market that attempt to solve this problem – such as the Retrode 2 and GB Operator – but their remit has been rather limited so far, covering a couple of formats at best. The Open Source Cartridge Reader (OSCR) is a somewhat more robust solution, as it is compatible with cartridges from eight different systems out-of-the-box.
The OSCR can read carts for:
- NES / Famicom
- SNES / Super Famicom
- N64 (Nintendo 64 (and N64 controllers and Controller Paks)
- SMS (Sega Master System)
- Sega Mega Drive (Genesis)
- Game Boy
- Game Boy Color
- Game Boy Advance
Furthermore, by using custom adapters, the OSCR can also read cartridges for Sega Game Gear, Sega Mark III, Sega SG-1000, Sega myCard, NEC PC Engine/TurboGrafx 16, Bandai WonderSwan, SNK NeoGeo Pocket, Atari 2600/5200/7800, Commodore 64, ColecoVision, Fairchild Channel F, Magnavox Odyssey 2, Mattel Intellivision, MSX, Nintendo Virtual Boy, Pokemon Mini, Vectrex and Casio Loopy – and can be expanded further as more adapters appear.
Using the OSCR, you can back up your physical game collection as ROMs, preserve save data, restore save data after a battery replacement, and flash ROMs to applicable cartridges. You can also back up and restore save data on N64 Controller Paks using an N64 controller.
Created by Sanni and built by cmcm and Little Fu, The OSCR costs $249.99.